SeaWorld: Aquatica water park news

[Robin]

View a live Webcast of SeaWorld's big announcement on March 5 at 2pm EST.

SeaWorld (http://4adventure.com/SWF/default.aspx)

They even have a countdown on their site. http://4adventure.com/SWF/popup_countdown.aspx

The buzz is that the announcment will be about Sea World's new water park, Aquatica.

Screamscape has some good photos of the construction (including the structure for a 3 story slide) and copies of some very cool concept art.

How does water slides going past dolphins sound?

http://www.screamscape.com/html/seaworld_florida.htm

[Robin]

The official announcment on the water park is in an hour, but the name is already official. Aquatica.

The new waterpark will be similiar to Discovery Cove, according to the afternoon news report. I'm guessing that has to do with the theming and the mix of rides and animals it's suppose to have.

Yesterday when I drove past, I could see two slides (or structures) being built. One was the standard colorful 'tubes' the other is a much higher building, where you can see the at least 3 stories of stairs to bring you to the top.

[Moley]

A themed flume ride would be awesome. Keeping fingers crossed this will be a must-do park! :yes:

[Robin]

Some notes:

Opening 2008, one year from now.

Landscape of New Zealand and Austrailia. South Seas theme.

Lazy Rivers through a grotto of tropical fish, also a faster 'water rapids' type river.

Signature slide will have clear tubes that go underwater and through the dolphin habitat.

Sandy beach, 2 side by side wave pools

Private cabanas and waiters on the beach.

36 water slides

Macaws, dolphins and anteaters. Yes, he said anteaters.

Still watching the press release.

[Frogman]

Sliding INTO the dolphins exhibit (via clear tubes) sounds interesting, even though I don't see anyone being able to see much on the fly.

[Daddio]

Excellent report Robin. You wrote that as fast as they were delivering it.

Here is a link to the new site:

http://www.aquaticabyseaworld.com/

[Robin]

Poof! I've never seen a website show up on demand on Google.

This wasn't there before the press conference.

Aquatica by SeaWorld (http://www.aquaticabyseaworld.com/)

The site is done in Flash and has concept art.



Frogman, I'm not sure how much people can see going that fast, but isn't it the only underwater side? Just the thought makes me claustrophobic!

[Robin]

SEAWORLD ORLANDO’S AQUATICA BEGINS TO RISE


One-of-a-Kind Water Park Opens March 2008

Orlando, Fla. (March 5, 2007) – Rising up in Orlando is a whimsical, one-of-a- kind water park only SeaWorld could create – Aquatica. Opening March 2008, Aquatica blends up close animal experiences, waters from serene to extreme, high-speed thrills and wide, sandy beaches.

"SeaWorld is famous for immersing guests in the mystery of the sea and its animals," said Jim Atchison, executive vice president and general manager of SeaWorld Orlando. "Aquatica takes this immersion to a new level, inviting guests to play in, over, and under the water itself."


Setting foot into Aquatica, guests immediately experience the vastness of nearly 60 acres of lush landscape inspired by the vivid color, stunning flora and carefree personality of the South Sea Islands. Reminiscent of the rugged beauty of New Zealand, Australia and New Guinea, the landscape of Aquatica is striking. Crystal-blue rivers wind through hidden grottos and refreshing waterfalls, while rich greenery and bright flowers adorn towering rock formations.

Peeking through this verdant landscape, brightly colored, quirky buildings topped with swooping, pitched roofs create an uplifting, carefree setting. Colorful, whimsical animals – derivative patterns from New Zealand’s Maori culture – adorn carved totem poles and interactive fountains.

Live animals from lands all over the world including Commerson’s dolphins, brilliant macaws and colorful fish bring to life the park’s playful, high-energy nature.

Aquatica features the most thrilling water rides in the world with 36 water slides, six rivers and lagoons, and more than 80,000 square feet of beach area. Designed in a way that could only be done by SeaWorld, these distinct attractions will zoom, float and splash guests through amazing animal habitats and undersea adventures.

[Robin]

Aquatica/page 2

The park’s signature attraction plunges riders in clear tubes through a crystal-blue lagoon with black-and-white Commerson’s dolphins. Guests feel as if they are flying beneath the sea among these beautiful animals. While similar in coloration to SeaWorld’s icon, Shamu, these dolphins are also distinctly different. In addition to being much smaller, they are also fast, agile swimmers - making them the perfect inhabitants for this lively park.

Aquatica’s attractions offer equal emphasis on high-energy thrill rides and immersive swimming experiences. A colorful mix of racing tunnels, raft rides and rivers offer crashing surf and high-speed thrills, while pools, lagoons and lazy rivers invite guests to enjoy slower pace.


Many of the park’s attractions even offer dual experiences within the same ride. Two immense wave lagoons create the world’s only side-by-side wave pools that can be operated independently or together. Though side-by-side, each lagoon offers a very different experience: one with crashing waves and 5-foot swells, the other with a gently rolling surf. Nine different wave patterns can be created throughout the two pools, with the ability to generate one immense wave, or even "dueling" waves.

Winding rivers throughout Aquatica also offer two different journeys from serene to extreme. One river carries guests through gentle waterfalls, past exotic birds and into an undersea grotto with thousands of colorful fish. An adjacent river offers pure thrill, jetting riders through rolling rapids, rushing geysers and racing waters.

Colorful eight-lane racing slides, triple-drop raft rides, double inner tubes, and a 6-story family ride round out the mix of thrills.

Even the littlest swimmers will enjoy one-of-a-kind attractions at Aquatica. One of the world’s largest interactive water play areas includes a colorful rain fortress that towers 60 feet above a 15,000-square-foot pool. The entire family can zoom together on slides and blast water cannons. In a separate children’s pool, even those Aquatica guests not old enough to walk can still slide down tubes with Mom and Dad in specially built rafts.

[Robin]

Aquatica/page 3

Plenty of wide, sand beaches, refreshing lagoons and cool shade from towering oaks and exotic trees create the ultimate water park for guest comfort. Personal cabanas dot the shoreline for those who desire a private retreat. The entire park is designed to limit wait times and provide easy access to rides, attractions and even restaurants. Those who don’t want to leave the comfort of their lounge chair can even enjoy beachside waiter service. All of this allows more time for carefree family fun.

Aquatica will be the natural complement to a full day’s adventure at SeaWorld Orlando, and create a trio of SeaWorld parks in Central Florida that collectively provide experiences found nowhere else in the world.
"In a destination famous for immersing families in fun, the SeaWorld parks offer the ultimate in family togetherness, connecting guests to the sea -- and with each other -- in three immersive, interactive, but very different, ways," said Joe Couceiro, corporate vice president of marketing.

Guests amazed by the wonders of the sea at SeaWorld. They can then visit Aquatica to indulge in the playfulness of the sea, as they zoom, float and splash through amazing animal habitats. For the ultimate in immersion, the company’s Discovery Cove park offers a completely different
experience: an exclusive tropical paradise, with limited attendance, where guests have up-close encounters with Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, rays and tropical fish. Whether making wondrous connections, having carefree fun, or enjoying up-close animal encounters, the SeaWorld parks offer guests an unmatched Orlando family vacation.

Natural, exotic, untamed, fun … SeaWorld’s new water park, Aquatica, has an attitude all its own. Offering fun as endless as the sea itself, it’s not what you would expect from a water park, unless that park is created by SeaWorld.

Seaworld Press Release

[Robin]

Excellent report Robin. You wrote that as fast as they were delivering it.

Here is a link to the new site:

http://www.aquaticabyseaworld.com/

Were you watching the webcast too?

Did you notice they one thing that didn't go over big was trying to get the reporters to play along with Big Chief WaterPark (or whatever his name was) and the made up Aquatica language. :lol:

[Robin]

Think a mix of Adventureland and AK's Discovery Island, as a theme for a water park.

http://cgrobin.com/temp/seaworld/aquatica1.jpg

Larger version (http://cgrobin.com/temp/seaworld/aquatica2.jpg)

[kathleena]

This looks awesome!

Looks like those tubes that go thru the water are enclosed before they get there. I wish I could go in enclosed tubes. The darkness of them is disorienting to me, last time I went in an enclosed one I was sick after.

[moulds]

That looks pretty fun to go to.

[Robin]

Rumor has it that in Universal's lease on the land where Wet 'n Wild now sits on International Drive. The location's plus is that they get a lot of walk in traffic. The downside (from what I can see driving past) is there is no theming and it looks like they just plopped down a couple water slides on the corner.

The talk is that when the lease is up, Universal will move Wet 'n Wild onto their property. I'm curious to see what response Universal will be to Aquatica.

[Daddio]

Were you watching the webcast too?

Did you notice they one thing that didn't go over big was trying to get the reporters to play along with Big Chief WaterPark (or whatever his name was) and the made up Aquatica language. :lol:

Yes, I watched. At first I thought he said he was chief WhatThe(*&^* but I guess Water Park sounds close.

I didn't think it was a relly good presentation but maybe I lost something in the small video window. Sure looks like its going to be an exciting water park but if you look at the people standing in front of the wave pools, and put it in perspective, the pools seem rather small. The two tube rivers sounded good too.

[Robin]

The initial feel I got when they showed the reporters present, was 'ho hum, another theme park announcement'. Maybe giving the reporters chairs would have help. :lol:

It was a bit corny, and the reporters who cover the tourism beat have probably seen 'em all. It was kind of embarassing to see one only person appeared to have played along.

The presentation itself was okay, though I think showing a video over a webcast losing details. There were some images they showed at the end where the colors were all washed out.

The speech by Mayor Crotty (Orange County, Orlando has Mayor Dyer, and yes it's confusing.) and the advertising guy makes more sense from the local standpoint. A push for increased tourism and building up Downtown Orlando with tourist dollars is big news around here.

[Robin]

Here's more description in an article from the Orlando Sentinel. And interesting point is that they're planning to include Aquatica in the multi-park tickets available for SeaWorld and Busch Gardens.


Seaworld unveils Aquatica
New water park to open in '08 will have water slides, a rapids ride and a beach area where visitors can relax.

Scott Powers
Sentinel Staff Writer
March 6, 2007

SeaWorld's new Aquatica water park will put as much emphasis on relaxation as on thrills, planners say.

Aquatica, which is to open in a year across International Drive from SeaWorld, is going to feature 36 water slides and a high-speed river ride with rapids aimed at competing with other thrill-ride theme parks.

But Aquatica also will have an 80,000-square-foot, highly designed beach area, and several calm lagoons for visitors whose main Florida goal may be to relax on the sand or splash lazily outF into the water.

And then there will be the animals, highlighted by black-and-white Commerson's dolphins splashing about in the main lagoon.

"Aquatica will be a water park you would never expect, unless it was built by SeaWorld," said Jim Atchison, general manager of SeaWorld Orlando.
He and other SeaWorld Orlando officials unveiled detailed plans Monday for the 59-acre water park, which was first announced in June 2005 and has been under construction for more than a year.

Aquatica will be themed mostly for South Pacific islands, though there will be mixed motifs from Central and South America.

The signature ride will be a slide that takes people underwater in clear tubes, where they can zoom past dolphins and other marine life. The dolphins and other animals also may be seen from an observation deck, an underwater viewing window and on a lazy river tube ride that will take guests under the marine life tank.

The other anchor attraction will be a twin wave pool splashing onto an 80,000-square-foot beach that Atchison said would be "stunning."
The contrast of those two anchors is representative of the park as a whole, said Tim Cuddihy, vice president of Aquatica. Such attractions as the beach also offer no lines and no waiting, which will increase Aquatica's capacity. It will be able to handle 16,000 visitors per hour, making it the highest-capacity water park in the state, he said.

"Fifty percent of Aquatica's attractions will be immersive-type attractions. The advantage of immersive-type attractions are no wait, no lines, just walk up and enjoy . . . ," he said.

Aquatica will give SeaWorld three theme parks with widely varying purposes and markets, all based on SeaWorld's marine theme.

At the high end, starting at $149 per person, Discovery Cove offers visitors exclusivity, with limited admissions to a tropical resort-themed park, with an option (for another $100) to swim with dolphins. Basic one-day tickets to SeaWorld, with its full-complement of rides and shows, cost $64.95.

There's no immediate word on where Aquatica tickets will be priced. But Atchison said they would not necessarily fall in line with other water parks in Central Florida such as Adventure Island, Wet 'n Wild and Walt Disney World's Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon, where tickets range from $35-$37 per person. He also said the ticket marketing would emphasize mutipark packages.

"This is SeaWorld's water park, and our intention is to market this so it is very easy for guests to get combo tickets for SeaWorld, Discovery Cove and Aquatica, and even our sister parks in Tampa, Busch Gardens and Adventure Island," Atchison said.

Aquatica will be the first all-new park in Central Florida since Discovery Cove opened in 2000.

Both Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty and Gary Sain, the new executive director of the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, praised Aquatica as an important new addition to Orlando's tourist attraction portfolio.

"It is a one-of-a-kind experience that exemplifies why our destination is the best place for families to visit in the world," Sain said.


http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-seaworld0607mar06,0,1170474.story?coll=orl-business-promos

[roodad]

Whooohoooo! I bet SeaWorld will build a great water park.

[Robin]

Latest update from the Orlando Sentinel's blog:


Central Florida tourism, convention and travel executives will get a sneak peak at Orlando's next major attraction, the nearly-completed Aquatica water park Friday morning.

SeaWorld Orlando is hosting a preview breakfast for members of the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau at Aquatica, which will have a soft opening for the general public on March 1. The media also will get a first chance Friday morning to check out the 59-acre park that SeaWorld and parent company Busch Entertainment Corp. promise will be the next generation water park.

Most of the 36 water slides, multiple lagoons, a 83,000-square foot beach area and other attractions are finished. Commerson's dolphins and other animals have been introduced into the habitats.


http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/business_tourism_aviation/2008/02/private-sneak-p.html

[Robin]

Tourism Blog report on the preview with video clip.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/features_orlando/2008/02/update-on-aquat.html

I think the bar on water parks has been raised. :D

ETA: I found this image posted that was taken from the tower at Sea World.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/01/25/aqua_dsc01593.jpg

[roodad]

Hmmm, this isn't a good sign. I saw your most recent post and then went back and read it from the beginning and thought "I love water parks. How did I miss this thread for nearly a year?" and then I came across my own comment. :oops: Join me for Aricept happy hour, anyone?
Do we have a mor definite projected opening yet? (or did I miss that too?)

[Robin]

The park is suppose to open on March 1st.

If you're an AAA member they are having appreciation days from May 1-9th.
http://tagrel.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23280

[roodad]

whoohoooo! I may come a day early on my April trip. I haven't been to SeaWorld in years. Is there a hotel associated with it?

[Robin]

photos of Aquatica. http://orlando.metromix.com/events/photogallery/aquatica/323871/content

Some of the comments are PG.